Love Sewing Machine Ad

More sewing machine trading cards that don't even show a sewing machine on the front. The picture on the back is badly damaged.


The Love is another sewing machine that I've never actually seen. I think they were later bought up by some other company.

Singer 128 Godzilla

Here's a little oddball of a sewing machine. At first sight I thought it was a Singer 99 because the photo was so bad, but when I actually saw it I knew it wasn't. It's a 3/4 size machine with a matte, wrinkled finish that's called "godzilla".

The obvious oddity was the bobbin. It's a vibrating shuttle with long bobbins (usually seen on treadles), but this is electric. It's a Singer 128 that came out in February 1948.

I always wonder who had my machines first and what they made on them. This one I even wonder why the person chose this particular machine.

Imagine its 1948 and you want a new sewing machine. Nevermind the dozen or more manufacturers--you want a Singer. You go in the sales room where you see stunning 201's, the classic 15's, various featherweights, and more. But you go to this little wrinkled finish, vibrating shuttle machine and buy it.

Perhaps it was bought later and was on clearance. Maybe it was a little granny who bought it and was used to a treadle--she didn't want to be bothered with one of those new fangled round bobbin contraptions. ?

It needs cleaning. I pulled all that lint out of the feed dogs and there is more. The wires feel strangely rubbery, so another rewiring. The woman I bought it from handed me a box full of attachments and one with a hemstitcher. I have gone from one basic foot and a ruffler six weeks ago to multiples of feet (and five rufflers).

I don't normally name my sewing machines but naturally this one has become Godzilla. I like the little oddball.

Holly Hobby Embroidered Shirt

I was a little kid in the 70's when it was ok to wear big knitted or crocheted outfits or heavily embroidered stuff. Not that I don't now--I've just toned it all down (a lot). Here is a shirt that mom made for me back then. It's light blue with eyelet trim, and she hand embroidered Holly Hobby on the back. I have to wonder if she found the pattern and liked it or what. I had never heard of Holly Hobby and still don't actually know who this character was.

The shirt is neat though. Look at this next photo. The satin stitich is excellent. The French knots perfect. The outline stitch exact. She certainly could embroider that mom of mine.

The Multi-Slotted Binder Attachment

Here are the binder and multi-slotted binder with guide pins attachments by Singer. I like saying that one, try it--the multi-slotted binder. I haven't tried the plain binder. Why would I when I have the multi-slotted binder with guide pins?

I tried the multi-slotted binder hooked up to the 15-91. It can take homemade binding of 15/16" in through the scroll where it rolls under the edges and sews it to the fabric at the same time. First cut the binding end into a long triangle and push it through the binder. The fabric goes through the middle of the scroll that you can see in the above photo. I sewed the binding a bit to get it started before putting the fabric in.

In the above photo you can see the binding on the right which trails through the guide pins and off to the right of the sewing machine. The fabric I fed through on the left. The trick is to guide the fabric through touching the inner part of the scroll evenly. It wasn't difficult at all. The binding just fed itself through.

The slots in the multi-slotted binder are for premade binding from 1/4" to 1/2". I tried this pink one out. Just put the binding through the appropriate slot and guide pins and sew. One little thing though--you can see to the left that the stitches just missed the edge of the binding. No problem! The multi-slotted binder can handle that. Look at the photo of the yellow daisy binding previously and you can see the oval slot around the needle hole. Pull the binder either way to adjust to the size binding you're using.

Voila! Binding. This was so easy. I'm impressed with this attachment. Except, I admit, I haven't mastered a corner perfectly yet. The directions tell me how; I just haven't done it. If you have one or find one--try it. I had never really done much binding (except on quilts) and I'm encouraged to try more. I thought I had photographed the yellow daisy one finished but I hadn't, but I promise it looks good. I think this would be nice on some baby clothes such as these two patterns:

They each have little diaper shirts and covers with binding on them. I think I'll find some gingham binding.

Let me add--the binders are not for quilts. No way can you cram a quilt through that thing. It's more for baby clothes, sailor suits, and household and kitchen linens. You can even make button loops with it.

The multi-slotted binder (with guide pins).

The Companion Pattern

This 1930's pattern originally cost 15 cents--wow!  A Companion Pattern.

I know that is called that because it's from the Woman's Home Companion, but if you've ever read any books by Agatha Christie you know about The Companion. She is usually a not too well off widow or spinster whose rich friend "kindly" lets her live with her and be her companion. Only the companion was then at the beck and call of the rich friend. She had to do all the fetch and carry jobs that weren't worth calling a servant for. How demeaning!--the companion must have felt like a complete crumb. And, of course, her clothes wouldn't be very fashionable. I always thought of this pattern being made in a mousey sort of fabric and worn by the poor companion.

Also, if the rich friend ever got murdered the companion was always suspect number one.

Davis Sewing Machine Ad

I don't think I've ever seen a Davis sewing machine, but here is a trade card for one. It says it's a copy of a silk etching made on one. I can't get a good close up shot to show those are actually all stitches. Yes, you can machine embroider on a treadle. It takes a lot of practice and patience. Not like me who sits in my chair spinning while my modern machine does the embroidery and beeps at me to change the thread color.

Vintage Baby Sacque

This is a very old baby sacque in a not too good photo. I used to think these were called kimonos but apparently the longer version is called that. This one is all silk with a silk lining. Even the embroidery and crocheted trim are silk. The sides are open.

The stem is outline or stem stitch, leaves are lazy daisies, and flowers are French knots.

Of course this isn't a practical baby outfit. I imagine my great-grandmother popped it on the baby right before company came over and immediately pulled it off when they left.

It's very simple to make. Simplicity has rereleased a similar pattern in their retro collection numbered Simplicity 2900.

Buttonholer Attachment

I have two Singer buttonholer attachments. Each one had a set of instructions--which didn't go with that particular model. I now have the instruction books for the buttonholer #489500 or #489510, the #121704, and slant shank #160743. None of which I have. Luckily, ISMACS has the instructions I need and all the buttonholer numbers so I can sort everything out. If I ever get a scanner I'll post all my instruction books.

The top photo buttonholer has Singer 121795 complete printed on it. I have the feed cover plate and screws that go with it. It needs a cleaning with some #0000 steel wool though. The buttonhole size is created by adjusting the winged screws on the side. One is for space and the other for bight (width of stitch).

The next photo is Singer 160506 low shank. It was in the green plastic box and has five templates with it.

The next buttonholer, as you can see, is a Greist one. It included the feed cover and five templates. I'm a bit confused about Greist attachments. Apparently he made attachments for Singer and then made his own company to make them (?) If you know, let me know.

No, I haven't tried any of them yet. I've been too busy playing with the slotted binder--which I'll post later. The manuals do say I can make buttonholes "without any special skill on the part of the operator." So I am encouraged--I have no buttonholing skill. Still, I feel they are being a little optimistic.

Treasure!!

Look at these two cases-

They were way up on a shelf in the closet of my mother's sewing room. She died in March of ovarian cancer and I had to clean out her sewing room. I never looked in these boxes because they were hard to reach and I thought they had record stuff in them--they were above a bunch of records in the closet.

Yesterday I looked up at them and thought the gold one seemed a 1950's type of box. There was no light in the closet; the house is too old for that. So I had my husband get them down. Wow! Look what was inside-
I opened the black (navy?) one first--Sewing machine attachments! My husband put the gold one on a table, opened it, and said, "Look."

There was a box with my name on it in mom's handwriting. I put away an attachment I was holding before walking over to see what was in the box. My husband already had it open and had an odd look on his face. He said, "How did she know?" and tilted the box to show me what was in it. The manual to a Singer 15-91 and some attachments to it.

The weird thing is...mom didn't have a 15-91. She had a Singer 404 slant shank from the 50's, a Singer 201 from an estate sale that she never plugged in, and a few other machines that weren't Singers. But remember what I bought about four weeks ago? Two Singer 15-91s. One from the Goodwill and one from a craig's list ad. It's almost as if she knew I would need that manual and the attachments. Is that not really weird?

In fact, all of the attachments are low shank. The black box, I found out, is a Featherweight attachment case. Together they contained: the 15-91 manual, a 201 manual, two buttonholers (one in a case with instructions and templates, the other one is old), a zizzag attachment (complete) with instructions, hemstitcher (complete with instructions), two pinking attachments with instructions, two tucker feet, ruffler, two binders, two adjustable hemmers, foot hemmer, seam guide, right toe cording foot, quilter, edger, and lots of screws that I have to figure out what they go with. It's like Christmas.

Butterick 8227

I wish I had a dress that made me as happy as the women on this pattern envelope seem to be--especially the middle one.

Although I've always liked sheath dresses and have had this pattern for years, I've never made it. The cummerbund belt is rather neat. Maybe one day I'll get around to it.

White Sewing Machine Ad

This old card isn't in the best of shape, but it's a great ad for a sewing machine. The bottom reads "Don't cry Johny. We have a new White Sewing Machine that will sew you all up so you will stay."

Can you imagine if your family didn't have a sewing machine and your mother was a very bad seamstress?

Thread Mess

A little sewing test on the Decatur 15-91 resulted in this. The top looked fine so I turned it over and found this. Bird's nest, loops, knotting--whatever you want to call it. I set the upper tension and tried again four times. It finally came out alright.

Summer Bag

I made this bag a few weeks ago for summer. I bought the fabric at Hobby Lobby. It was one of those times when I see a fabric and know it is perfect for me--no second guessing.

The pattern came from this site. Of course I can never do anything simple like follow the pattern--I made a few changes. I thought 16 inches wide was too much so where it comes out for the bottom (it's slightly triangular) I tapered off about two inches. Also I didn't use the extra interlining but just a layer of heavy interfacing. Simple changes and it worked for me. Oh, except I read the directions three times about attaching the handles and didn't get it--how is the lining done? It was probably just me, but I did the handles the way I've done on other bags. I really like this bag. It sits comfortably on the shoulder and even full of stuff (as it is in the photo) it isn't heavy or uncomfortable.

Amish Quilt

Several years ago I made this Amish-style quilt wall hanging. I like how such an old design as pinwheels can look so much like modern art by using solid colors and black. It's hand quilted too. My hand gave out on me soon afterward and I don't hand quilt anymore, but I have a number of examples of when I did. It hangs in the living room and gets swapped out with another quilt.

Singer 15-91 Working

Here it is--my thrift store Singer sewing machine. Cleaned up and working great.

It cost $24.99 including the cabinet. I bought a new spool pin, rubber bobbin winder ring, and felt pads for the spool to sit on. Also Sew-Classic recommends buying the marked throat plate as in the next photo. The machine had the plain unmarked one. Good advice. I even sewed those two squares together. Now I have to decide what to sew on it.

Also, I did note that even though I had cleaned up the machine I forgot the presser foot--I'll tend to that immediately.

I can see why people like fixing old sewing machines. It's been so much fun, I'm going to keep my eye out for some more when I go thrift shopping.

Singer Trading Cards

I'll be scrubbing the 15-91 for a few days. Here are some old Singer trade cards. My great-great somebody pasted a bunch of cards into a school ledger. I found it in a dumpster when my great-aunt was cleaning out the old family home for sale. We found out later she threw away the most amazing stuff--it meant nothing to her. She was a strange old bird.

Funny how the cards don't actually show the sewing machines.

The following cards show different scenes. I guess you could try and collect the whole series.

Sewing Machine Grunge

The 15-91 works which is the main point, but it has a film of grunge. The film is only in parts. The photo shows it clearly. The top is clean but the lower part isn't. The flash made the grime layer show up more than it actually does. The problem is cleaning it without damaging the decals or scratching the paint. Everyone has their favorite cleaner and it's a matter of testing carefully. I spent a couple of hours scrubbing and managed to get only two inches nicely cleaned.

I thought getting the machine in working order would be the hard part. Apparently just cleaning the thing will take much more time.

Sewing Test

Here is the thrift store 15-91 cleaned up. I haven't finished cleaning the japanning (black paint), but the working parts have been cleaned. I put it back in the cabinet for now with a garbage bag tucked into the front for laying my tools on.

This machine came out of the Elizabethport factory in New Jersey on March 3, 1949. Now I'm going to see if it still sews. I'm a bit nervous--I don't expect this to go perfectly. The timing could be off. I'm sure the tension is. But it's time to try it out.

I put the spool on a wooden skewer which I stick in the spool holder hole--not hard--I want to remove it when I'm done. I have a spool pin on order; it should be here tomorrow. I put the pressure foot back on and a needle. The flat side of the needle goes to the left on this machine, not to the back. Thread it. Put the bobbin in its case and thread it. Pull the knee lever down. Move the balance wheel and pull up the bobbin thread. Take a breath and go. The machine sounds nice--it hums. Stitches form--very small ones. I stop and push the stitch length lever down. Go again. More stitches. And stop. I cut the thread, remove the fabric and turn it over. If you sew, and I assume you do if you're reading this, you know what I'm looking for. Big loops and thread nests. There are none. Its almost perfect. The upper tension needs a tiny adjustment. I never expected this on the first try. What a sewing machine! I hope I run this well at sixty.

Sewing Machine Gears

The Singer 15-91 and 201-2 sewing machines are both gear driven machines--no belts. I spent the morning cleaning the gears of my thrift store 15 machine. No photos because my hands were a mess.

On my Decatur 15 machine I'm finding peculiar things, such as the wire to the motor looks too small. The light isn't original and when it was replaced whoever did it put an old black round plate on the back instead of the original silver one. The machine is shiny because someone has obviously waxed it--they waxed a hair onto the bed behind the needle plate. Gross. Someone has also drilled out a large hole where the top motor brush cap fits in. Whoever did that had metal shavings all over the place. It's not as perfect as I first thought.

Then my brother who is rewiring the 201 called. He can't figure out how to get the armature off. I went to my workshop and looked at the two machines. I really like the thrift store one even if it is more worn with little paint chips and stuff, and the work on it is coming along great. I'm becoming rather attached to it. So I sat at the Decatur one deciding it would be the parts machine and not the thrift store one. I took off the balance wheel--inside was a completely grease covered gear. For the photo I wiped off a bunch of goo so the gear would show better. Notice the layer of grease under the gear.

I spotted two small set screws on the gear and undid them to see what would happen. They are small! This released the armature. These machines really have such a simple design. As I had the motor off I saw that there were two small wires coming out of it instead of the usual one. Someone had drilled a hole through the motor cover to run the extra one out to the terminal box. They had also soldered over the brush on the bottom. I don't like this at all. It looks like the work of someone who thought they knew more than they did. Plus, the amount of grease in it is too much. More is not better. I called my brother who sat at the 201 while I told him what to do. He found the screw on the gear which had been masked by a glob of grease--that's why he didn't see it. I told him about my machine and its wiring and soldering. He says it isn't the best way--the brush can't be replaced as easily.

I left the motor and gear in pieces that evening and didn't know how I would get them back together again. I'm a little discouraged with the Decatur machine. I must have been tired because the next morning my husband and I put it back together rather easily. Have the brushes out (except for the stupid soldered in one) and also the wicks out of the grease pots which I pulled out with needle nose pliers--then the armature slips right back in place. Replace the screws, wicks, brushes and everything and done. Here's a photo of a clean gear:

Another sewing machine

I had looked on craigs list for the first time the other day and saw an old Singer sewing machine in a #40 cabinet in Decatur. I emailed about it thinking it might be good for parts. I found the 15-91 in the thrift store the next day and bought it. That night I got a reply to my email. The machine is $25 including the cabinet which looks good in the photo. I recheck the photo and can see the machine is a 15 class. The 15's have their tension knob on the left on the face plate not on the front like most machines. A few days on the internet and I've learned a lot about this kind of thing. Do I need another machine? That's not the point.

I'm going to get it. I have a bad feeling about the 201. Little things keep happening. In case it doesn't work I want the 15-91 to work. I am not bereft of sewing machines by the way. I have an old Elna that is fabulous and a Brother embroidery/sewing machine that my mother gave me. My sister got the Janome and my aunt the serger. I tried the Brother and for all the fancy stuff it can do (and that's a lot) I was disappointed in the basic straight stitch. Puzzled too. It should be better--shouldn't it? I got out the Elna which I've had for years--it has a nice straight stitch. But I want a sewing machine that stitches great and I can work on. These old machines are also so elegant and simple. I've always liked them, so why not use one (or two) (or three).

My husband says he'll go get the machine and does. He brings it in to the workshop and we open it up. It's shiny and nice. It works. Just beautiful. No attachments but it has the original manual in the drawer. I'm a little disappointed though. It doesn't seem to need much work and I've enjoyed taking apart and cleaning some of the thrift store machine. This new one looks perfect. I decide I'll go ahead with cleaning the thrift one to learn more and keep the Decatur one to the side for tidying up later when I know more of what I'm doing.

I started my cleaning in the head section. It seemed an easy place to start. I took off the face plate and checked the presser bar and needle bar. Not too bad. I took the presser bar regulating screw off to get the spring out to clean. It looked the worst but cleaned up easily. It went back together easily too. The face plate took a scrubbing but is shiny now. I'm going to save the tension knob for later.

I was a little nervous about removing the bobbin shuttle but I did--carefully laying out each piece in a row in the order that I removed it. Actually the manual shows how to do a lot of this stuff. I figure if the 1940's housewife could do this so can I. The bobbin area was the one area I was concerned was rusted but it turned out not to be rust but just brown oily dirt. The whole thing cleaned up nicely. That hook part is suprisingly sharp. I was careful with it--I didn't want any nicks on me or it. I don't have photos of all of this. Once I get to work my hands are too dirty to pick up the camera. Also I had the machine out for all of this--I took this photo a few minutes ago with the machine back in its cabinet and tilted back. And yes, I see the brown spot I missed. I'll tend to that shortly.

Remember the machine ran and then slowed down? I took the balance wheel off and looked inside. I was very technical and put an old sock over a screwdriver end and stuck it in the gear area--it came away with a thick gooey brown glob of grease. No wonder it slowed down. Gear cleaning tomorrow.

People have different opinions on what to clean sewing machines with. Many use kerosene and/or metal polish. I read one site that said sewing machine oil was safe to clean the easier jobs with--it works for me. I would stay away from WD-40, but that's my opinion. Also be careful of household cleaners. 409 apparently cleans some of the metal, but I'm not going to use it. Check out the sites on my previous post--those people know more about it than me.

Here's a download for sewing machine maintenance. It's for handcrank machines so it's a little different in some areas, but the basics are the same.

Thrift store vintage Singer

I went out Friday to nose around some thrift stores. I walked into Goodwill and there across the store sat an old Singer sewing machine in a cabinet. I recognized the cabinet as #4o. I strolled over and pushed aside an electic broom and some other stuff that was in the way and leaning on the machine.

It looked dirty but not too bad. I pulled the bobbin plate aside and saw it's an oscillating hook. Turned the balance wheel and things moved the way they should. I thought it was a 15-91. I read some the day before about these machines. The 15-91 and 201 have the same motor. This could be a parts machine. It seemed in good shape. The wiring is new except to the motor. A spool pin is missing and the stitch regulator screw. The cabinet needs a new finish. The whole thing is grubby, but not bad otherwise.

I couldn't find the price and asked. $24.99. It's coming home with me. The parts on this machine are worth more than that.

I can work on cleaning up this sewing machine while my 201 is out. I don't have to worry about messing up anything while I learn about all the parts and how to clean and fix them.

The first thing I did when I got the thing home was check the wiring to the motor. Amazingly it looks original but in very good condition. No cracks or frays, nothing. I plugged the machine in. It starts--its running--it slows down. Thats ok it looks dirty and is probably gummed up. I check online and it is the Singer 15-91.

My dad happens to stop by and I have him look at the wiring. He is surprised at how good it looks too. He fiddles with it and says it looks fine.

Now all I have to do is get cleaning. This next photo shows the motor without the cover and a look inside the back of the machine. I unscrewed the light too--its lying there. The face plate is brownish with grime.

I spent the evening looking up information about these old machines and how to refurbish them. There isn't much available. Sew-Classic has reviews of both the 201 and 15-91 plus a comparison of them. ISMACS has some great information as well as Treadleon. Here's another site with some information and that sells parts.

Singer Wiring

Bad news. I phoned Dad and heard that the soldering went fine but a wire came loose from behind the motor. Luckily he talked to one of my brothers who also does wiring--he says he can fix it. It turns out he rebuilds motors in his spare time for his brother-in-law. Dad and I didn't know that or we would have sent the machine straight to his house.

I'm itching to get my fingers on this sewing machine and get to work refurbishing it, but its going to be days before I can. My brother can only work on it after work when he can. I said, "Just take your time. I'm not in a hurry." Lies--I want it now. I must be patient.